A tale of lost souls
by gotta love loove
Summary: This is the story of love and life after the war that raged in Alagaësia. Eragon who a decade ago left the country now finds himself as a teacher, an elder. Arya the queen of the elves, slowly realize that all her life she has been waiting for something, and when it finally came, she threw away. In the story we'll also meet the new rider Theo son of Orn and his White dragon Mouch.
1. beneath another sun

Eragon reached for Saphira and found her eating something that could have been a goat, in the mountains. He left her in peace knowing that she didn't like to be disturbed while eating. In many ways Saphiras mind were much like the humans, elves and dwarves but when it came down to the pure instincts of her species she liked to flow with the nature like an animal. Not that he would ever tell her that. The last time anyone insinuated that she was an animal she almost bit the head of the poor man. Eragon returned to the field where he was observing the young rider and his dragon performed a thrilling fight with their minds. From Eragons view it looked like they were just looking at each other but he knew that they both were fighting to the edge of their abilities even though it weren't with sword and claw. The rider and his dragon had joined him just four weeks earlier and were the first pair Eragon had welcomed. As he looked at the two he felt that little lump of fear growing in his stomach, were there any chance at all that he could train these people? He were just a boy himself, this summer would be his twenty-seventh. Only two years more than the man before him.

The pair came from the coast city, Narda. The man, Theo, had been a sailor for the last ten years and had been on the ship that should sail a group of elves with the snow white dragon egg down the coast to Surda, where it should be shown to the kids in hope the dragon would choose one of them. When Theo saw the egg he immediately knew he would follow this dragon far beyond the borders of Surda and the same night the egg had hatched and the baby dragon had crawled into his bed and since then they hadn't been further apart than they were able to touch each other. Theo had named the he-dragon Mouch, after his farther. A good name, Eragon thought to himself, a good and strong name. Theo and Mouch had the first day they were with Eragon and Saphira told them everything that had happened after that, and it had taken Eragon all of his self-control not to react when he came to the part with Arya.

Eragon hadn't heard from Arya, since the day he left Alagaësia, almost a decade ago, the night she had told him she were the new queen, and the night she had told him that she might come to love him. It had been cruel to put that kind of a hope in an already dead story. Eragon were never to return to his home, and Arya would never abandon her people. Many nights after Eragon would lie awake burning trying to forget. But forget was apparently the one thing that he could not do, but with time he could forgive. He forgave Arya breaking his heart, and he forgave himself, for giving it away so foolishly. After that he realized he could move on, as long as he didn't look back.

After the egg had hatched the elves had taken Theo and Mouch with them to Ellesméra, the elves capital, where they had been presented to the queen and her dragon, Arya and Fírnen. The green dragon had apparently had a lot of fun with the baby dragon, since it was the first time, since Saphira, that he had seen another dragon. They had stayed in the city for almost three months until Mouch were big enough to fly, and fight if they should run into trouble on their way to Eragons residence. When the three months were up they left the city, flew after the directions the elves, whom had done the journey with Eragon, had given them. It had taken them further five weeks before they finally could take their rightful places as students.

-Master, may we take a break?

Eragon looked up and saw Theo standing in front of him, looking into the ground. A little behind him, Mouch were busy cleaning his scales. It took some time for Eragon to realize why Theo was looking into the ground. Theo was a strongly build man with muscles like the blacksmiths son Albrich back home. Not only was he strong, but smart too which had made him use to overcome obstacles, and almost always, winning.

-Do you feel like taking a break, Theo?

Theo looked up, with a stubborn look in his face. A look Eragon already knew far too well.

-yes!

Eragon looked at him for some time and then walked up to Mouch which forced the dragon to stop cleaning the scales on his left leg.

-What do you say Mouch? Do you want to take a break?

Mouch turned his head so one of his pale white eyes looked directly into Eragons.

- _My rider is tired therefore my answer will be as his. Yes, master._

Eragon gave a nod with his head before he turned so he had the rider and dragon on each their side.

-How many magicians would you say there are in this world?

Theo looked confused to his dragon and Eragon could almost hear the questions between them.

- _How should we know, master? And why, if I may ask, is this important?_

-You may, Mouch. It is important because if you should find yourselves in a war, then trust me, there will be no time for a break, before the next magician attacks. So now if you would return to your assignment, and if not then you can leave already, because then there is no more I can do for you. So, will you return to your possessions?

The silence lasted for about three seconds before there came an unanimous,

-yes, master.

-Good. When you feel like you have done everything you can then I would like you to come and see me.

With those words Eragon turned around and walked in between the trees where he followed the path, that lead him deep into the woods. When he first came here, by the river alongside the elves they had walked around for weeks looking for a place to settle. It was pure coincidence that Eragon found the cliff. It reminded him s much of the cliff, on which Oromis had had his home, that he immediately signaled Saphira and they started creating what now were their home. When you stood on the edge of the cliff you could see as far as the mountains allowed. The cliff were the one side of a valley while the mountains were the other side, and on the bottom the river slowly curved its way through the land until it disappeared in between two of the mountains. Behind the cliff there was a forest. In there most of the elves had found their own places, while others had traveled on to find other lands. It was through these woods Eragon now walked, as he left the field and his students behind. He didn't have much contact with people back in Alagaësia, he had sent a few messages back with the three elves whom had made it their job to make a map that could show the way all the way back from Ellesméra to the woods where Eragon and Saphira would spent the rest f their lives.

Eragon closed his eyes as he walked between the trees, felt every being around him, felt the heartbeat f the animals, felt the wind in the trees' crowns and weakly felt the mind of an elf not a few miles from him. He didn't try to contact the woman, as he knew if she wanted to speak to him she would have reacted when his mind touched hers. In many ways being here with the elves, were like being here alone. If Saphira hadn't been there in the time before Theo and Mouch, Eragon would surely have gone crazy. But Saphira was here. He reached out and felt her as she was on her way back from her hunt. She was headed for the cliff and Eragon started running, eager to see her again. She had been gone when he woke up this morning and hadn't seen her since the night before. Saphira could feel his eager and speeded up so that they could be together. When Eragon broke out of the woods into the late sun's rays, Saphira was already there, waiting for him.

For a moment Eragon had to stop. It hadn't accrued to him how big she had gotten, but now, as she stood there like a queen, with the sun shining on her scales making them wave in all their shades of blue, he lost all other feelings than intimidation. She looks so beautiful that he couldn't imagine how any other creature ever could dream of outmatching her. It would even be an honor, he thought, t be eaten by a creature like her. Spent your last moments knowing you would feed someone s mighty, the queen f the sky. For a moment he even felt bad for Mouch, growing up next to a dragon, who had seen so much in so short time. A dragon that had brought back their species, a dragon that had saved an entire country from a slow death. In that moment, Eragon blessed himself, for being lucky enough to share his soul, and his heart with this magnificent creature in front of him.

Saphira, who could feel all the love streaming from him, lowered her head until her eyes were in level with his. Eragon reached out and put his hand n her cheek, and for a while, they just stood there, shared their love, their fear and the sorrow from the past.

- _Have peace, little one. We have each other._

-For ever.

- _For ever!_

It was moments like this that made all the horrible things from the past feel worth it. All the blood, all the murders and all the pain seemed so small when compared to all of love which he and Saphira shared. How could he possibly have had a life without her?

A growling came deep down from Saphiras belly as she laughed.

- _It's what I have been trying to tell you little one, I'm amazing!_

Eragon laughed with her. One thing you could always count on was the ego of the dragons.


	2. Who is this man?

-Master?

Theo looked in the door and found Eragon in the corner, reading that big book he almost always had his nose in.

-Yes, Theo?

He closed the book and put it n the table next to him. Slowly he looked up at him with that look in his eyes, that patient look. When Theo first came here, he felt like the king of the world, or at least when he weren't in the present of the elf queen. She scared him to death. But Eragon, the rider that saved his home, his country, eh could always make him feel so small, with just one look. And Theo dreaded it.

-You said we should come see you when we were done.

-And here you re, so I can guess that you are.

Eragon got up, and headed towards the fireplace in the opposite corner. Every night Saphira would light it up, s the hut would stay warm, and Eragon would cook, for him and Theo while Saphira and Much would wait till they were done. Mouch weren't the patient kind and he hated the waiting while the two-legged eat. But on the other hand he wanted Theo to be at his strongest s they could complete any task that their masters would give them.

-Yes, master, we're done.

-Good, then come join me for diner.

Theo took a deep breath before he sat down on the other side than where Eragon had his book. He hated this part of the day. Ever since e came to the elf city he hadn't had a proper meal. It was green and fruits all of it. In the night Theo would dream of a good steak. But he knew that as long as he was here he wouldn't get any f that. Every time he asked why it was like this Eragon just said, what you do is your choice, but when you are finished here I promise you, the meat you are used too, will just not taste as good as you remember. It was typical, all those riddles.

-Master, may I ask you a question?

-You just did, but feel free to ask me another one.

-That book, what is it?

Eragon looked down at the book and put his hand on the cover.

-This, Theo, is the first complete story of the empire we know as Alagaësia. It is a very rare piece, because when Galbatorix first sat on the throne he had all books like this burned.

-If it is that rare, then where did you get it from?

-A friend.

-What friend?

-A good question, Theo, but unfortunately it's not one you know.

Alright, if that was the way he wanted it. Whenever they would start a conversation, it almost every time ended up with Eragon shutting down. He told nothing about himself and just assumed that Theo and Much would put their lives in his hands. If he messed up in their training they could just be dead already. And what was this deal with a man living so far away from the home he had had? It was weird. And then all these people, he knew. When he had been in Ellesméra he had heard rumors, stories and songs about this man. Honestly Theo had expected someone a bit more, what could you say, great? In the songs and tales, it said that he was one of six that had given Varden their victory, a human, an elf, a dwarf, a witch, a dragon and a rider. But when Theo met the elf, the queen, he had almost gotten the picture that she was angry with this man. She had been so cold; she hadn't even mentioned his name. And from what Theo knew then the human, thee other queen, his queen, were the only one who had had any contact with his masters since they left. When the elf-queen had sent him away, he just heard her ask a guard to get the message to this Nasuada so she could bring it on to the rider. After the first day Theo didn't see the queen again before the last hour before he should leave. She wished him luck and gave him a saddle made many years before, the last time the riders had lived in Alagaësia.

Where Theo came from, everyone spoke like they never would meet each other again, there were no secrets among them. Everyone knew everything about each other. And then he gets thrown into this world where the most hornets answer he could dream of getting was I don't want to talk about it. Not that he had ever heard that.

-Master?

-Yes, Theo.

-The queen…

-What queen?

-The elf queen.

It was a little change but big enough for Theo to notice it.

- _Did you see that, Mouch?_

 _-I did…_

-What about her?

Again, a little change. His vice where harder and at the same time colder, like if he on purpose tried to sound uninterested. And then there were the eyes. The second Theo had mentioned the elf queen, his eyes had gotten thirty degrees colder.

-When I talked to her that once in Ellesméra…

- _THEO! You are in too deep!_

Theo ignored Mouch and went on.

-Se seemed a kind of angry, may I ask, have you done her something?

In the back of his head he could hear Mouch complaining, but it was too late. He had already said it. Eragon sat absolutely still. Not a muscle moved for about five seconds. In that moment, Theo actually wished that he would get angry. Maybe yell at him or at least tell him to shut up, or it weren't his concern. Just a flicker of emotions would be nice, even if it were hate. But of course he didn't.

-As far as I know, Theo, then the queen and I are as friendly today as we were a decade ago.

Theo looked down at his soup. Did that man at all have emotions?!

-And in the future I think you should maybe double check your questions with Mouch before you ask them.

-Yes, master.

Theo were pretty sure there even if he looked for the next century he wouldn't be able to find any nicer way to say, stay out of mu business.

- _You were really lucky there, sailor! Why would you do that?_

 _-I know you were curious about that question too, Mouch._

 _-I was, but I managed to keep my curiosity to myself, and I would appreciate it if you would d the same._

 _-I just…_

 _-Want to see him angry, yes I know, but I don't!_

 _-Why not?_

 _-Because, sailor, he have managed to keep completely calm during all of your stupidity in the last month, and I have a bad feeling that all of that anger is in there somewhere, and I would not like to be there when it explodes!_

- _Fine!_

Theo looked up at his master, and now when Mouch mentioned it, he started to wonder. If have kept calm for s much, then what else is hiding in there? And the question that had rankled him since he first met this mysterious rider came to his mind once again. Who was this man?


	3. A moment

Arya closed the door behind her and smiled. Alone. She was finally alone. The whole morning messengers had gone in and out of her residence. People from all over the woods had questions about everything. When Arya grew up she never saw that part of the throne. She saw her mother smiling and helping where she could but she never saw all the stressing decisions that she had to make. Her mother had always said that when she was old enough she would show her. She would show her every part of the life as a queen. But Arya had left the woods just before her mother thought her to be old enough. And that had been the last time she spoke with her for seventy years. And now when she really needed her advice she weren't there. She was dead. As she did almost every day, Arya damned herself for being so foolish. Wasting all that time trying to do something good, wasting all the time she could had had with her mother. But at the same time Arya knew that she couldn't have done anything else but what she did. Hadn't she been out there with the egg it would never have come to Eragon, and this country would still be at the mercy of the black king. But still… she couldn't help feeling like something was missing, something so, s important. Or more likely: someone.

Arya sat down on the bed. The smile from before, the happiness f being alone had suddenly turned into something else. This sadness, this emptiness was killing her.

- _Close your heart, princess, so you can open your eyes._

 _-And then what will I see?_

 _-The love you have, the love from the people you have pleased, the love from your friends whom you have helped in so many ways, and the love from your dragon that will never let you fall into the emptiness of loneliness._

 _-Kind words, Fírnen._

 _-Not just words, my princess._

He was right. Arya would never be lonely again. Yes, maybe alone, but never lonely.

Someone knocked on the door, and Arya put on her most patient face before she called them in. It was Eldrun, one of her guards.

-My queen.

-Eldrun.

-We had reports about a dragon egg that have hatched for a young elf.

-Where?

-In Osilin, my queen.

-What egg?

This was great news. After they had found all of the eggs after the war had ended, Arya had together with the king of Surda and the queen of Alagaësia made the decision to only send out two eggs at a time. These eggs would then be taken down the countries and then if they didn't hatch be taken back to Ellesméra where they would be changed with other eggs, which then would go on the same journey and so on. As far as Arya knew, then in the moment there were a brown and a dark blue egg on the road. The brown had only been sent out a few months earlier when the white egg hatched for a human in the cast city Narda. The new rider had then been taken to Ellesméra where he and his dragon had been until they were ready to make the journey to Eragon in the faraway lands.

-The brown one, or cobber as the messenger says. It hatched tonight if we are to believe what they are saying, just before they were to leave with a ship to the south.

-Why were they still in Osilin?

-They had had some trouble with the boats. Two of them were lent to the dwarves three weeks ago, and it has taken the last two weeks for another to be brought to Osilin for them to use.

-Who is this elf that the egg has chosen?

-A young girl, 23. Her name is Oulí daughter of no one.

Arya raised her brows.

-Daughter of no one? How?!

-She will have to tell you that herself, because the messenger did not dare to ask.

-Did not dare? She's a girl!

-I'm sorry, my queen

Arya wanted to say something but knew it would be unwise. At this point she had already shown too much. Never show them how you feel. That was what her farther once told her. Before his death, he had told her to always keep her emotions in check, because if they could see them, they could use them. Better hold them to yourself, better you use them, than they. And that was a discipline that Arya had mastered perfectly. Until last decade. During the war she had opened up. She had let people get in to places she had kept secret to everyone but (ham kæretse der). She had let herself become woundable to the people around her. Nasuada, a strong woman, who had a mind like an elf and a tong like silver. Orik, the dwarf king, a funny little man that in his time in Ellesméra had turned out to beneath his clear mind and strong arms, have a heart as loyal as the sun that rises every day. If first you made your way into that heart of his, he wouldn't let you down even if it meant the curtain death. And Saphira the dragon. The elves had always praised the dragons, at least after the war between the two species, but Saphira had become so much more than just a dragon to Arya. In all f the battles that they fought together Arya knew that Saphira would have her back at any time. Not that she heeded it of cause. And last but definitely not least, there was Eragon, the human boy, the farmer, that over three years turned into a strong man, a warrior of heart and soul, and a friend dearer than Arya had realized before it was too late.

-You are forgiven, Eldrun.

-Thank you, my queen.

Arya knew that she needed to see this girl. This was the second rider in a very short time, and she didn't even know if Eragon were up to the job of training not only one but two riders. After all he weren't even thirty.

- _Maybe not in age, my princess, but he is much older in mind, and you should not doubt him._

 _-I know, Fírnen, I know, it's just so hard._

 _-I've noticed. Trust is really something you should work on, princess._

 _-And you should work on being quit!_

Arya cut him off and returned to the room and Eldrun.

-I need to see this girl. Arrange it for her to come here along with her dragon. And find out the name of the dragon.

-There will be a problem with that, my queen.

-What?!

\- Oulí doesn't want to make the journey to Ellesméra before her dragon has grown to a size were it can defend itself and her, and she wants the connection between them t be way stronger before she bring him here.

-A girl does not want to do as her queen asks?

-No, my queen.

Arya started to wonder if everyone around her just simply enjoyed to see her angry, or if this really just were the cruelty of the coincidences.

-Fine, and if there is no more I would like to be left alone for the rest of the afternoon, Eldrun.

-As you wish.

And with those words the elf closed the door behind him and Arya returned to her moment of freedom. It was kind of funny. The whole war had been about getting freedom to the people within the borders of this empire, and after the war was won, then yes, everybody was happy, everyone but her, who had ended up creating her own prison, by becoming the leader of this silent people, because that was what they were, always silent. No one ever lied, but that didn't mean that they told the truth. Every elf in the world were masters of the art of spinning words so they told no lei nr gave away any truth. There were no trust between elves, no friendship in the way she had experienced it during the war. And most importantly, there were no love. Love was a word that elves never used, because when it was, it always brought along the greatest pain.


	4. All good comes to the ones who wait

In the corner of his mind Eragon was weakly aware of the two dragons floating around in the sky but he didn't have to listen closely, he just followed Saphiras state of mind to know how it was going. Meanwhile he was fully aware of the young man in front of him. Theo and Eragon had been training for the past hour while Saphira taught Mouch how to maneuver in a heavy storm, like the one they had found in the mountains. The field on which Eragon and Theo were standing was on the other side completely still. Not a leave moved before they did, and they didn't in the moment. Theo had changed his tactic into a more passive one. Now he was just waiting, waiting for Eragon to make the first move, not that it had giving him any victories, but on the other hand nor had his last one.

Eragon knew that Theo wasn't very patient, and therefore wouldn't be able to wait very much longer, so Eragon decided to just wait until Theo couldn't anymore. The time passed, and Eragon could almost see the suns movement over the sky. As the sun made its way t the horizon Eragon realized he had underestimated his opponent, and that was the first time Eragon felt like he was getting somewhere with the young man in front of him. And for a moment, only a tiny moment, Eragon felt proud. Theo had changed, he had become stronger in both mind and body, and now, Eragon knew, he was ready.

Eragon straightened his back from the attack possession he had been in and felt his muscles relaxed.

-Put away your sword, Theo, we're done for today.

Theo looked confused, almost disappointed, but he straightened up as well and a smile of relieve showed up on his face when his back loosened up.

-But master, we didn't even fight this last one?

-No, but you learned your lesson, Theo.

-What lesson? I toughed I was here to fight!

-Fight?! Did you really think that was the only reason why you were here?

-Yes, master, to fight like the riders did so I can do that back home!

-You are here to learn, Theo. Not just how to fight! You are here to learn how to prevent fighting, how to live a life in peace from the evils of these lands and mostly you are here to find the true you.

-The true me, master? I don't think I understand.

-The true you are the person that lives inside of you. The person you are, when you have a knife pressed at your throat, the you, you are when everything is taken away from you. The true you, Theo.

-But why master? Why do I need to know that now? Can't I just figure that out on the way?

-No, Theo. What if you aren't who you toughed you were? What if you are bad and figure that out where no one can help you? That could be dangerous, Theo. And you need to know with certainty, who you are, leaving no doubt in yourself. You need to know who you are before you can tell anyone else who they should be.

-If a rider needs to know who they are before they can teach anyone else who they are, then tell me this, master… Who are you?

That was a question Eragon hadn't been expecting. He wanted to tell Theo to mind his own business, but on the other hand, he deserved an answer. Since Theo came down here Eragon had told nothing about who he was or where he came from, and yet, he expected Theo to trust him with his life.

-I'm a farmer, Theo.

If Eragon toughed Theo had looked confused before then it was nothing compared to what he looked like now.

-A farmer, master? I don't think I understand…

-You don't need to understand, Theo, you just need to accept.

-I accept, master.

-Then we can move on to the…

-Move on to what, master?

-If you would let me speak, Theo, you would get your answers a lot faster.

-Sorry.

-You are forgiven, and now listen. It's time for you to see.

-See what?

-See the world, Theo, everything round you. You have learned to see with your mind, and you have learned how to fight with it, what you are going to learn now is how to observe.

-Observe what, master?

-As I said, Theo, the world, life.

For the third time today Theo looked utterly confused and Eragon had a hard time trying not laugh. It would, he toughed, ruin the respect he had gained from the boy to start laugh at him, so instead he tried explaining.

-Open your mind, Theo.

-Why?

-Do as you are told.

Theo closed his eyes and Eragon could feel the boys mind expanding.

-Now look around you, and tell me what you see.

Theo opened his eyes and turned his head.

-With your mind, Theo.

Theo closed his eyes again and tried to look around.

-What do you see, Theo?

-The lights. Small lights in the grass and a big one a few meters that way.

Theo pointed his finger in the exact direction to where Eragon were standing.

-That's me, Theo.

-Oh.

-What else? Just the lights in the grass?

-No, master, lights everywhere.

-And what are these lights, Theo?

-Minds, master.

-Good, but what are they?

-Animals?

-Yes, Theo, but what animals? And what are they during?

-I don't know master.

-Open your eyes, Theo.

Theo did as he said.

-Can you now tell me where the lights are?

Theo started to close his eyes.

-No, Theo, with your eyes opened.

-No master, I can't.

-This is what you need to learn, Theo. You need to learn how to see, how to observe. What if one f those lights had been a man trying to kill you?

-Then I would have killed him, master.

-That is not my point, Theo. How would you now if he was trying to kill you?

-I could check his mind, maser.

-You could, but what if you were in the middle of a city? How would you know who he was?

-I wouldn't, master.

-And that is why you need to learn how to observe. Come with me.

Eragon turned around and let the boy deep into the forest. On the way, Eragon made sure that Theo was aware of the path they walked on, so he could find his way back. After they had walked for about half an hour, they came to the edge of the cliff, on which Eragon had his home, just a few miles north from the cabin. The cliff here was still a part of the forest, so the view wasn't very clear from where they were standing. Eragon pushed a bush aside and showed off an overturned tree. He had found the spot only a few weeks after he found the spot where he and Saphira now were living, and had used it for his mediations ever since, even though he in the beginning had felt bad about doing it. It reminded him of Gleadr and Oromis, and how they died. They hadn't even been buried. By the time the elves had reached their death spot all they had fund were a big pile of ashes. But over the years, Eragon had come to appreciate the fact that his teachers at least had had a quick death. They hadn't suffered. And Gleadr had made sure that Eragon kept up his mediations by saying that anything else would be a disgrace on Oromis' memory.

-I want you to come out here, every morning before you join me at the field, and observe.

-What? Just sit here? For how long?

-An hour. And when you join me I want you to tell me what you've learned.

-But…

-No, Theo. You are here to learn, and you will do as you are told. You can start now.

-But, master…

-No, Theo. Take you place and then come join me, Saphira and Mouch on the field.

And then Eragon turned his back, and went into the dark shadows of the trees, and the smell of the pine trees. And for a moment he allowed himself to think about her, and miss her. For a moment he wondered, what she was doing, and if she missed him, like he missed her.


	5. The blood in my heart

-What do you think, Fírnen?

Arya spoke out loud as she balanced on a root from one of the pine threes.

- _I think it is foolish to even ask that question. We both know where that girl belongs, and it is childish, to try to keep her from it._

 _-_ So you think!

 _-No, Arya, that is a fact. I know you don't like t think about Eragon, as the grown man he is, but it is a fact that he can teach these kids way more that you ever would be able to._

 _-_ Why? That dosen't even makes sense. I'm much older than him and I know things about magic that Eragon could only dream of!

 _-Yes, and you have for a very long time. Arya, you were fully grown before you became a rider. That is the problem. Yu don't know how it feels to have your whole world turned around by a dragon. When I came you already knew all there was to know about my kind. Eragon can look at these kids and without lying say; I know what it feels like. He understands them, in a way you can't._

-I hate it when you do that.

- _Do what?_

Arya jumped down from her root and walked to the place where Fírnen was lying. She sat down with her head resting at his flank.

-win.

Fírnen laughed.

- _You're a funny one, princess._

 _-_ Says the dragon that still can't call me queen…

Fírnen became quit.

-Why is it you still call me princess? In all the time you've known me I have been queen.

 _-Because princess, you might be a queen to your people but you are no queen to me._

 _-_ But nor am I a princess to you

- _No, not in the way you people use the word. To me you are the youngling whom, I would protect to the end of my days._

Arya frowned.

-A youngling? I'm more than a hundred years old!

- _And yet, princess, you have completely lost you heart to the one person whom, could never be yours._

Of cause Arya knew that already, she had known that for a long time, but having the words tossed at her like that hurt more than she had expected.

- _I'm sorry princess; I didn't mean it like that…_

-Yes you did, and it's alright, Fírnen. It is the truth; I should have been used to it by now.

- _You should never be come used to pain, I live to prevent that._

 _-_ I know you do, but this pain is one you cannot scare away, or heal.

- _You're right. I can't…_

None of them finished that sentence, because they both knew the ending, and they both knew that that would never happen. No, Fírnen couldn't end this pain… But Eragon could. But he was long gone. Arya hadn't even spoken to him since he left, and now ten years later, she still couldn't stop longing for that friend of hers.

 _-Friend? I thought he was your…_

 _-_ Stop it Fírnen!

- _Well, if he isn't you knight in a shining amour, then there could maybe still be a chance of finding that one._

Arya knew he only said it to make her angry, but the words did still sting. She sighed.

-He is my knight in a shining amour.

- _Very fitting when he is a warrior._

 _-_ He is no warrior, Fírnen.

 _-Then what is he?_

-He is a farmer.

- _You really have to stop thinking of him like that. He is no boy, he is no farmer and he is no match for you!_

 _-_ I know, I know! I know all of that, but I can't help myself! It is like when I breath it doesn't help because it isn't the air my lips is missing, when I drink it feels wrong because it is not water that I need to drown my thirst. It is like the blood in my heart has frozen to a diamond of ice, and I don't know how to tell my heart to let the blood go because it hurts, the ice hurts inside of me, and I can't get it out!

Arya hadn't noticed the tears that had started streaming down her face, before she they started dripping down at her hands. When she saw the tears she got angry. It wasn't fair that she, the elf queen should sit here and cry for a man that he knew she never would see again. It wasn't fair. And it was over. No matter how much it hurted she wouldn't cry. Not for him. She had asked him for time, and he had said no. He had said no to her, he couldn't wait for her, he didn't love her, and this would be the last time she would ever let as much a single tear drip down her face again. It was over. This pain should not defeat her. Yes she loved Eragon, and no she would properly never forget him, but she could keep that inside. She hadn't shed a tear when her mother died, and she was twice the person Eragon was. There was no way that this silly man, no matter how noble or skilled he was, should make her cry ever again. Her pain was hers, and she could hide it. She was strong, and it was about time that she took back control over her life. It was time.

- _Good, princess, but be careful not to lose your heart, no good can come from that._

 _-_ I will remember that, but for now I think it is time to sleep, don't you?

- _I do._

With those words Arya stepped away and saw Fírnen stretch his wings and jump off the ground and flew into the sky where he moved as I gigantic shadow across the sky hiding the stars as he headed to the clearing in the woods where he had set up as a nest. As she saw Fírnen fly out of her reach Arya couldn't help but feel a shadow of loneliness glide over her. Slowly she started to move in the direction of her chambers. As she walked past one three after another she slowly started to relax again. Being among her own kind was stressing her out. The elves were always tense and Arya were no exception to that. She always had to guard her mouth as if it were a prison of the darkness itself. Every word she spoke could end up hurting someone, and among the elves, hurting someone were the cause of war. This was the reason why the elves always thought twice before saying anything. A war among a species that lived almost forever could end up killing the whole people which she had sworn to protect and lead. As the queen these rules applied even more than to the rest f the people, because everyone listened when she spoke, and everyone had an opinion.

The other species' always looked upon the elves with a curtain respect, because of their long lives, and therefore enormous amount of knowledge, but their long lives and memory had made the elves a hidden species. When the black king was sitting on his throne the elves had done nothing for so many years. The day Arya had chosen to join Varden her mother had told her to stay away. The elves had been so scared of starting a war that they had allowed their neighbors to die like flies. They had been scared; such a great species had been scared! That was what a long memory created, fear, fear of fear. The elves had been scared to save their friends, they had been scared to join the battle and they had been scared of being at war because they knew that the byproduct of war was a constant, self destructive fear.

Bu fear would be no longer. Once more this country would be the greatest and the richest, thanks t the riders that soon would return and create peace all the way from border to border. This was the new golden age.


	6. My only friend

Nasuada was furious. Wasn't it enough that she couldn't have a family of her own with a person she loved, no now she should have one she would never love in a million years? She understood that being a queen meant sacrificing for your people, but Nasuada had hit a point, where she had to draw the line. This was too much.

The hall, in which she was walking, was cold. The castle was always cold. Nasuada couldn't count the times she had asked her maid for an extra blanket to keep her warm at night. And this winter had been awful in a whole new way. The snow had lied over the entire country like it was a thick, white, fluffy blanket. It had been almost impossible to leave the castle and its save walls, that had protected them from the storms that had been howling outside. But the worst part was the fact that they hadn't been able to do anything for the people that lived outside the castle. In the beginning Nasuada had taken a few farmers in, the ones that had had no chance f surviving in their own houses. A lot of people had died because of the cold and even more had starved to death, because they weren't able to go out and get food for themselves and their families. The worst ones were the kids. So many kids had died during the winter. And almost none f the babies had made it through, but as her advisers kept saying, there was nothing to be done. They couldn't have saved everyone; the castle was simply not big enough.

Her advisers had a bad habit of making her extremely angry. The way they spoke t her, like she was a child, but she couldn't fire them. They were the best in the country and they had all proved their worth before she had given them the job. Unfortunately most of them came from rich families where they talked about the lower ranged people like they were some dead animal that the cat had dragged in. Even though Nasuada had told them time after time that she wouldn't hear talk like tat inside the castles walls, it still happened, and she was too tired to tell them every time. She felt like she used half her time arguing and the other half giving up. It was exhausting.

Nasuada turned a corner and continued through the countless halls of this castle. In the beginning she had had a hard time finding her way in this place, but now, a decade later, she could walk to any room she wanted without even thinking about it. It was nice, that the place was so big. It gave her an excuse to be alone as she walked from meeting to meeting, and her alone time had never meant as much to her as it did now, when there was so little of it, and she had so much to think about.

-Afternoon, my lady!

Nasuada returned to the world around her surprised to find a man standing right in front of her. Hadn't he spoken would she properly had tumbled right into him.

-Afternoon.

The man smiled at her and passed her as he continued on his own walk. Nasuada choke her head. It would have been quiet embarrassing if she, the queen, had walked straight into a man like that. On the other hand, then she was the queen, who would laugh at her?

Nasuada looked around, and found the door to her chambers a few feet from where she was standing. The door, a big wooden door, which was always closed, was open. Nasuada frowned and went over there to see what was going on. Of cause the guard preferred that she would contact them in situations like that but Nasuada told them every time that would be an overreaction.

Nasuada looked inside and saw her maid standing by the bed trying to make a pillow stand up. As Nasuada kept looking the pillow fell down twice before the maid had any luck with her agenda.

-Fraichia!

The girl turned around and looked so choked that Nasuada had to fight hard not to laugh. No matter her efforts a smile did appear on her normally very strict lips.

-My lady, you startled me! I wasn't expecting you before after lunch time today.

She was right, it had been the plan that Nasuada should have been dining with the mayor of Narda today, where they should have discussed the taxes that the city hadn't paid this month.

-I know, but the mayor has let me know that he won't be able to make it today. He will be here tomorrow for lunch instead.

-But, my lady, tomorrow afternoon… Isn't that when you are meeting Orin?

-Oh… I had forgotten.

-Well, we will just have to tell the mayor that he can come for dinner instead, won't we?

-Yes, we will.

-I will let a messenger send, when I'm done here, and have served you lunch, my lady.

-What would I do without you, Fraichia?

-Properly the same as you are doing with me, my lady.

Nasuada didn't say anything, because she knew, that the maid was right. No matter how much Nasuada liked her, she knew that there would be more than enough women, eager to take her place if anything should happen.

Nasuada sat down on one of the chairs around the big table that had about the size of her very, oversized bed.

-About the meeting with Orin, my lady… Are the rumors true?

-That depends what rumors you have heard.

-You know which ones I'm talking about!

-Yes, unfortunately I do. And I don't know yet. The advisers have been pressuring me for months about this but I just can see it happen. I mean I'm all for doing the best for my people, but this is just… wrong!

-But you know that it will happen, my lady.

-Why? Why will it happen? Can you see the future now or something?

She didn't mean to get angry, but it wasn't exactly one of her favorite topics.

-No, my lady, I can't see the future but I know you well enough to know that if a chance for helping this country into an even safer peace treaty would present itself, then you would take it. And think of the safety for people this would create. Not to talk about the money!

-You sound exactly like my advisers…

-So you mean smart, sophisticated and kindhearted? I know my lady.

-I hate you when you are in a good mood.

-Well then you are going to hate me even more when you hear my news!

-What?

Fraichia turned away from the bed so she was facing Nasuada, and laid a hand on the bottom of her belly.

-I'm pregnant!

Nasuada was to be mild, choked. Not that she should be surprised. It was tree years ago that she had married the love of her life, as she descript him. A fisher, one of the richer ones, so all in all was it about time she got pregnant.

-Well…

Nasuada didn't know what to say.

-My lady?

She was happy for her no daubt there, but she also knew what that meant. Now he was prengnat, a few months from now and she would have t stay home until bith, and then she would maybe never come back. Over the years, Nasuada had turned to her maid for advice she couldn't count how many times. She wasn't ready to lose her now. And beneath all that, there was the jealousi. Nasuada had always wanted to be a mther, but she had given that up to make her father proud. When she took the throne it was with a heavy heart because she knew she would never get to start a family with the man she loved. She would never get what Fraichia had. If she could just turn back time…

-My lady!

No that wouldn't change anything. She would always end up here, that was her fate.

-I am so happy for you Fraichia! How far in are you?

-Tree months, my lady.

Tree montsh, that made it six till she gave birth and she wuld proberly stay home at least two before that, so that meant she had only four months left.

The misery must have showed on Nasuadas face because Fraichia laid down at her knees and took her hands in hers.

-My lady, I promise by the child that I'm bearing that I will be here to annoy you with my happiness for many years to come.

-You can't do that. Yu have to keep your house, take of the kid, you can't take care of me too!

Fraichia laughed.

-Of cause I can! My mother is moving here so she can take care of the child while I'm here. The only difference will be that I can't stay as late. I promise that when I leave here in a few month that, that will not be the last you'll see of me, my lady! I mean, as you said what would you do without me!

-The same as I do with?

-Forget that… I promise I will stay. I will never leave you, my lady!

-Good, because I think, you are the only friend I have left.


	7. Good guess, but no

-When do you plan on joining us, Oulí?

Arya looked at the girl in the mirror. She had had to leave the shielded Ellesméra to be able to contact the girl. Oulí was a very young elf and it showed. She had a round face, or at least it was round in the elf world. She had big grey eyes sitting deep in her face, which let a fine shadow cover them up. Her lips were big and aple like the rest of her colors. The whole thing was framed by the short white hair. All in all was she a very pretty girl, but that didn't mean anything when she started talking.

-As I said to your messenger once before; I won't travel anywhere before Adina is at least a few months old and right now he is only a week, so you will just have to wait, won't you?

In that second Arya was grateful for the fact that the girl wasn't sitting right in front of her, but in fact kilometers away, because it took all her self-control to not destroy the mirror, and she was pretty sure that, that wouldn't have been enough if it been the girl and not the mirror she was looking at.

-Well, Oulí, we don't want to wait that long. I will send a handful f guards to meet you, when they arrive I will give you one day, to start the journey back here, understood?!

Oulí looked everything but happy when she answered;

-Understood!

And then she disappeared out of Aryas sight.

It was night outside and Arya was tired. She put the mirror back on the wall, and laid down on the bed. She had been waiting most of the evening for Oulí, and then, when the girl finally showed up, she had used the rest of the evening being utterly disrespectful. She had come with a hundred demands if he were t fly down to Eragon and had kept asking about the facilities. And not once, not one single time had she given Arya the respect she demanded as a queen. She had simple seemed like she just didn't care who the hell Arya was. Well, we will just have to wait, won't we? Wait till you came here, and then I will show you what respect is!

- _Isn't that Eragons job?_

Fírnen, who had been very quit all night, had apparently chosen now to discuss.

- _Yes, but I won't be able to handle a girl like that for very long!_

 _-Then we will have to find a way to get her down to Eragons as fast as possible_

- _Yes we will._

And the Arya closed her easy and slipped into her waken dreams

It wasn't even dawn when Arya heard yelling and knocking on her door. She cast the blanket off of her and put on a tunic.

-What?!

She opened the door and saw a guard standing outside with a surprised expression on his face.

-It's a dragon, my queen! It is a big dragon, headed to the menoa-three!

A big dragon, could it be… Could he be here! The guard said something more but Arya was already gone. She ran, on bear feet and poorly dressed through the halls until she reached the gate in the end of the royal garden.

She couldn't wait, not if he was here!

She jumped over the gate grabbed the top and landed safely on the other side, and before anyone could follow her she was gone again. She ran like she had never run before, because this time it was not because someone needed her, and was not because she had a duty to for fill, and it was not because there was something after her, she ran because she couldn't wait one more second to see what was in the other end, and yet, no matter how fast she ran it wasn't fast enough.

II WASN'T FAST ENOUGH!

She ran faster and faster, pressured herself till the breaking point and then further yet. She could hear the guard behind her, their yelling, words, she didn't want to hear, words that meant nothing, words that couldn't stop her now, because she was flying through the forest.

She didn't notice the scratches on her legs and feet, r maybe she did, she just didn't care. In the back of her head she could hear Fírnen, waken up by her screaming thoughts. Also he tried to say something, but she didn't listen. She cut him off, put up the metal barriers around her mind, letting no one in.

And now she could hear it. The sound of a dragons wings pushing away the air beneath it as it landed. The sound created holes in her hearing, and made the leafs vibrate and few even fell off of the threes. It was a big dragon, a dragon that at least had to be a decade old. Like Saphira. And she would never leave her rider.

Even though it shouldn't be possible Arya ran even faster. She was almost there and the sound became higher and higher until she felt the need to cover her ears, but she didn't. It would take too much time away, so she just kept running while it rained around her with leaves in the wind created by the dragon's wings.

She was so close when the sound stopped and the entire ground shaked so Arya had to take an extra step to keep her balance. She almost tumbled into a three but managed to run around it and continue to the Menoa-three. She was so close she could smell the dragon, the roasted smell that came from the fire within.

She could see the light between the threes where the Menoa-three had its roots. Only six more steps and she would be out. She would finally see him again.

Five steps, she pushed away branch that was in her way.

For steps, she wondered if he had changed over the last years.

Tree steps, what if she had changed? Would he even recognize her?

Two steps, would he even want her? Did he love her like she loved him?

One more step, and the fear grabbed its hold in Arya heart and she lost her breath.

She was there.

-Eragon?

She whispered, out of breath as she saw the gigantic dragon and the man in front of her. But the dragon had the wrong color. The man turned around and… Murtagh.

-Good guess, but no…

Aryas knees gave up and she fell to the ground.

- _No more, I can't do this no more…_

And then everything turned black.


	8. No blood, no heart!

The days past Arya by as were they seconds. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, all this time she had told herself she missed him and that she could live with that, but boy, had she been wrong. When she first had let herself disappear into that river of feelings that had caught her that night, there was no going back. No feelings could match that, so now, she felt nothing. It was all gone. She heard to kids singing, but she didn't feel no joy, she saw the flowers stand as tall as ever, but she didn't feel no amazement, she heard the insults from Fírnen telling her she was weak, and that she needed to stand up, but she didn't feel no anger. She was empty. She walked the halls, attended meetings, listened to the peoples' problems, and yet, she didn't know what had just happened. It was like a fog had covered her entire world, a thick, white fog that had made all sounds distant and all sights unclear. This was her new world. And she liked it.

That night, when she had realized her mistake, the consequences had caught up with her only a bit slower than her thoughts. The pain had been consuming. It was like she had been riding with a river of hope, which had send her right over the cliff in desperate despair until she landed in the ocean far down, and now she was stuck in the water, that made everything look so different. It was safe. She knew that if she ever left the ocean she would have to crawl up the cliff, and she couldn't get herself to relive that pain. Nothing was worth that.

- _Not even your people's safety? What a queen!_

Fírnen was angry with her. She didn't care.

Arya ignored him and looked around. She was surprised to find herself sitting in her own room. Not that she should be surprised, this was where she had hidden every second that she was off duty. She had woken up here the morning after… after that. She had no memory of how she got here, and apparently nobody else knew either. Not that she had asked, but she hadn't found any memories of it in her guards' minds. Nor had she any idea about where Murtagh had disappeared to. Not that she cared very much about it, but after all, he must have had a reason to come here. One does not enter the kingdom o the elves without a cause.

Arya lay down at her bed and closed her eyes. In the moment she did that the pictures reappeared. She opened her eyes immediately. She hadn't been able to sleep for days because of the pictures, but she didn't mind. Sleep was overrated among the elves. She could keep going on the energy from the threes around her as long as she didn't use to much energy fighting, speaking or thinking, and those were things she didn't do much these days. She had told the group she usually trained with that she needed a break. They had looked concerned, but Arya had just walked away. She didn't want to explain. She couldn't explain… She didn't even understand this herself, so how should she explain it to anybody else? No, this was something to keep to herself. It was hers, her world, her fog.

-My queen?

Arya looked up and saw a young elf standing in the door. He looked kind of scared. She had a feeling that she knew him, but she just couldn't remember…

-Yes?

-I have a message from Yndis.

-Yndis?

Again this weird sensation of memory loss.

-What is the message?

-He and the rest of the patrol have reached their destination. They should be heading back tomorrow with Oulí and the dragon, my queen.

-Hm.

The guard didn't move, it was like he was waiting for a better answer but Arya just didn't have anything else to say.

-You can go.

The guard looked worried, but at least he closed the door, leaving Arya alone again. She leaned back and cleared her mind from all thoughts. Not that there was many of them, she had been very unproductive in that area in the last couple of days.

It knocked on the door.

Arya crawled out the window behind the bed. She didn't want to talk to anybody. She just wanted to be left alone in her fog, her quit, empty world. She didn't know where she was going, she just walked. She didn't look around her, she didn't see the people passing her, she didn't see them bow for her, and she didn't hear them greeting her. She just walked in her fog, where there was no one but her, and her silent thoughts. Empty.

- _I'm here!_

Arya cut him off, and put up her shields, so that he couldn't bother her.

Without knowing Arya had been walking back to that spot. That terrible spot. She looked up at the Menoa-three's big crown and saw the billions of leaves, and looked down again. Even though she mostly just wanted to leave, an instinct made her sit down with her back pressed up the log. There was no one here, r at least no one she noticed until they spoke…

-So, this is where you have been hiding.

Arya looked up and saw Murtagh standing over her.

-For all I know, I'm not the one that has been hiding.

She was surprised to hear the words that came out her mouth. That was the longest sentence she had spoken in too long time.

-No, you might be right about that.

He smiled at her and sat down beside her.

-So, are you going to tell me about it or am I going to guess?

He didn't look at her and she had a feeling that he already knew everything she could tell him.

-Guess.

She couldn't explain. It would be too hard, and she was scared it would rip her out of her fog.

-My guess is that you thought I was somebody else. Am I right?

-Yes.

Murtagh had stopped smiling and looked a bit sad instead.

- _Oh god no, don't start crying by, don't start because then she'll start!_

Fírnen had found a way around her defense.

- _You know that he can't hear you right?_

 _-Oh my, are you talking to me? Like really talking?_

- _Not anymore._

-Okay so if I am right about that then my next guess would be that this person, whom you thought I was, is someone you were quit desperate to see.

Arya couldn't say anything so instead she just nodded.

-And if you were desperate to see them then you must have missed them very much, correct?

-Yes.

The net thing that Murtagh said almost threw Arya over the edge again.

-He loves you too, you know.

It was time to shut down. She didn't want to feel these things.

- _Remember what you said about the blood in your heart? Maybe this is just the…_

Arya cut him off

- _No heart, no blood!_

 _-You can't hide forever, you know!_

 _-I'm not hiding!_

 _-Yes you are. You are hiding from the truth. You are hiding from yourself. You can't outrun pain. You cannot chose some emotions and let others go, you have to take them all, or none!_

 _-Then I choose none!_

 _-So what, you don't want to joy? The amazement? The love?_

 _-Love?!_

 _-Is there no one here you love?_

 _-The whole problem is that my loved one will never be her again!_

Arya was angry, and that scared her, but what scared her even more was the pain. Not her pain. This was another pain, coming from another body. It was Fírnens pain. And then Arya realized what she had done, and suddenly the fear didn't matter anymore. He was more important, so she turned her back on the fog, and gathered all of the pain, the anger and the love and let them run through the connection between her and Fírnen, showing him all of the love she had for him, showing him that she would never live a day without him, showing him, that she would never, ever, in all of the days she had left to live, no matter how dark it would turn, then she would never ever hurt him again.

- _That is the problem with feelings, princess… You cannot outrun them._

And Arya knew he was right. The pain was there. And it was terrifying, but living one day without Fírnen was unthinkable.

Arya sighed.

-So it worked?

She returned to the real world, going n all around her and found Murtagh still sitting beside her.

-What worked?

She felt a sting of guilt flowing from Fírnen and looked at Murtagh whom had started smiling again… And she connected the dots.

- _FÍRNEN!_

- _Remember what you just said, princess! The thing about not living without me and…_

 _-Forget that! I'm going to kill you!_


	9. A rider or not

-Tell me Theo, if you were in a battle what would the most important thin be? The most important ability?

-Sword fighting, master.

Eragon smiled. If anybody had asked him ten years ago he would had said the same.

-What if you lose your sword? Then it's not much worth to be able to use it or not, so tell me; what is the most important ability to have in a battle, one you don't need anything to use?

-I don't understand, master.

Eragon wouldn't either if he hadn't been the one asking. He thought of a way t explain it so that it would be easy to understand but at the same time he wouldn't give him the answer.

-If you are in a battle, with no tools, no sword, no amour, not even friends, nothing, just you. Then what is the thing that can change your fate from dead to alive?

-I don't know, master.

-Think, Theo!

-I don't…

-What about you Much?

- _I would say ability to use magic._

-It is important but magic counts as a tool. There is one thing that will make you able to save your live with anything you have, and you have nothing, it will make you able to run to hide and to fight.

If they didn't get it now, Eragon had no idea about to say, because this was as obvious as it got.

-I don't…

But Mouch spoke before Theo could finish his sentence.

- _Strength, master._

-Strength is very important and it can save your live, but there is a thing that will make you able to use your strength, one thing that can change everything…

-Will!

Eragon was surprised to hear the answer come from Theo, and judging by the look on his face, so was he.

-Correct, Theo.

Theo smiled a proud smile.

- _He is not that stupid, after all._

Eragon smiled at Saphiras comment. Then she spoke again but this time so everyone could hear it.

- _If you have the will, you can do anything!_

-You can fight for your lives…

 _-you can run from death…_

-and you can keep going to whatever destinies waiting ahead of you.

 _-But to do anything in this world, you'll need will._

They had gotten so use to each other that they didn't even notice when they spoke like that, finishing each other's sentences. The only thing that made them aware of it, was the eyes f their students that went from the dragon to the man and back again when they were trying to keep up.

-So, today we will train separately.

- _Mouch, you will join me in the sky._

-And Theo you will stay here on the field with me.

Eragon looked at them both to make sure they had understood, before he took a step back giving Saphira room t spread her wings and jump off the ground. Mouch didn't take long to join her, and soon both dragons were out of sight.

- _Don't fly to far away today._

 _-I won't!_

And then Eragon turned his focus to the man before him.

-So, Theo, slept well?

Theo looked confused.

-Yeah, I guess, master.

-You guess?

Theo smiled.

-Mouch snores.

Eragon couldn't help himself not to laugh. Of course he knew that dragons snored, Saphira was a master in that...

- _I am not!_

 _-Oh, yes you are!_

-Well let's hope it won't affect your training.

-Let's, master.

Eragon gave Theo a sign that he should follow him, when Eragon crossed the field to the stream that flowed slowly through the southern end of the training field. Here he took up tree buckets that he had put there the evening before.

-Stretch out your arms, Theo, if you would be so kind.

Theo did as Eragon had asked, and Eragon placed a bucket in each hand.

-The rules are simple. Do not lower your arms!

-So what, am I just going to stand here?

-Yes. While I fill the buckets with water, and then you are going to say stop when can't do it anymore. Simple, right?

Once again, Theo looked confused.

-Yes, master.

Eragon took the third bucket and filled it with water, and then went t the bucket in Theo's left hand. He poured until the bottom was covered in the bucket and then did the same in the right bucket.

-Tell me, Theo, is this hard?

-Not yet, master.

-No, not yet.

Eragon kept filling the buckets, bit by bit, while he kept asking if it was hard. The first time Theo answered yes, the buckets were half full, and he had sweat on his forehead. Standing like that with stretched arms was harder than he had thought that much was clear from the expression on his face. After that Eragon put less and less in the buckets each time, but at the same time he took longer and longer time pouring and getting water. Theo looked extremely focused and Eragon knew that it would come any second now…

-Stop! Master, please stop!

-Do you want me to stop, Theo?

-Yes, I do, master!

-So what you are telling me is that you are giving up?

-No, master, I just can't…

-You can't? Or you won't?

-Master I…

-Theo, why did you come down here?

-To train master!

-Why did you want to train?

-So I could fight.

-Why did you want to fight?

-Because I wanted to help people, master!

-And you think that you could help anyone, when you can't even hold to half full buckets of water?!

Eragon looked Theo into his eyes and waited.

-Keep pouring, master.

And so he did. Eragon went slower and slower, dragging the time as much as he could. The sweat was now all over Theo's body. His face was shining in the sun and his arms had started shaking.

-Master… I can't…

His voice was forced and he sounded out of breath. Eragon knew that Theo soon would hit the wall, and drop the buckets, but he also knew, that Theo was capable of so much more.

-The, I'm not forcing you to d this. You are here of your own free will. You can drop those buckets anytime you want… But you haven't which means you still can, you just don't want to.

-Master…

-Theo, we all have a choice to make, and this is yours. Are you a rider? Will you g to the very edge of your abilities, and then jump the cliff? Or will you stop like any other man? This is what it means to be a rider, Theo. We try, and when we can't do anymore, we continue, because that is our job! Do your arms hurt?

-Yes…

-Good. That pain is here to remind you of all the ones that can't fight themselves, those are the ones you are here for, so tell me now, Theo, are you a rider or are you a fisher?

Silence. A look of despair showed in Theo's eyes and for a moment Eragon thought he would drop the buckets.

-I'm a rider, master!

-Then prove it, Theo.

Eragon took the rest of the water in his bucket and poured it in the right one Theo was carrying, so it plashed over the top of the bucket. Theo's arm lowered an inch but then it stopped. His brows touched each other and he had bared his teeth in a last attempt t keep up the bucket. But Eragon wasn't done yet. He filled the bucket again and repeated the act in the other bucket.

Theo snarled, but the buckets didn't drop. Eragon went back in front of him.

-Now, that! Is a rider.

And Theo dropped the buckets so the water plashed to every side and then he fell to his knees, completely exhausted.

Eragon went down on his knees in front of the young man.

-What are you, Theo?

Theo took a deep breath, then one more, before he looked up at Eragon.

-I… am… a rider, master!

-So you are, Theo.


End file.
